Remington, the nation’s oldest gun maker, is closing its facility in Ilion, New York in March. About 300 people work at the site in the Herkimer County village where the company was founded in 1816. The move comes after financial struggles and bankruptcy proceedings in 2020.
The company has not responded to a request for comment, but did post a video to its Facebook page Friday morning detailing the move, citing the cost of operating the Ilion facility and New York’s legislative environment as concerns.
United Mine Workers of America, a union that represents workers at the Herkimer County plant, issued a statement Thursday evening saying the news is a “slap in the face” to workers.
“The workers in Ilion enabled RemArms to rise from the ashes of the Remington Arms bankruptcy in 2020-21,” said UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts in a statement. “Without these workers and their dedication to producing the best firearms in the world, this company simply would not exist.”
New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican from the 21st House District, placed the blame on New York’s strict gun laws.
Thursday’s announcement came as a surprise to village Mayor John Stephens, who spoke with WAMC Friday morning.
Stephens: I guess, heartbreaking, shocked, but not shocked. You know, we being the village, the county, the general region, we’ve been hearing stuff for years. But 37 years, my dad worked there and provided a paycheck and raised four kids on that paycheck. And there’s always been ‘Oh Remington’s closing and leaving’, you know, never really paid much attention to it. So, but recently, you know, with the bankruptcies that they went through, and then the new ownership group, you know, we always had that thought in the back of our heads. So is it heartbreaking and disappointing? Yes. Shocking. It’s shocking, because, you know, it’s like, cold water hitting you in the face, you know it’s coming, but…
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